Itty Bitty Buggy: Motors Tutorial (mDesigner)

Motors

Motor blocks are blocks which controls the motors on Buggy Base directly. This gives the user the ability to fine tune the behavior of the motors. The motors are referenced as Motor "A" or "B" depending on the side it resides. These blocks can set the movement direction of the motors (Motor - Set Speed block) or brake / stop the motors (Motor - Stop block).

Block: Set Speed

The motors speed and direction can be controlled with the Motor - Set Speed block.

Note: This block is NOT holding. Which means once the motor's speed is set, then the program will go to the next block immediately. The motor will continue to run. Function: This block sets the speed of the selected motor. Motor - select motor (either A, B, or AB (both)). Speed - rate to set the selected Motor. A value between -255 and 255. Negative values will spin the motor in reverse. 0 being off 127 being half speed forward. 255 being full speed forward -255 being full speed backward -127 being half speed backward

Example 1: Turn Motor "A" on to full speed

Note: this example can be performed in online or offline mode. If you plan to use online mode and previously used offline mode, please follow the instructions to reset back to "online mode".

Blocks Used Block Category Blocks Events Buggy

Example

Description: When activated, Motor "A" will turn on at full speed (255).

Example 2: Spinning Buggy Base

Note: this example is performed in offline mode .

Blocks Used Block Category Blocks Events Control Buggy

Example

Description: When activated, the motors on Buggy Base will turn in opposite directions, which causes a spinning motion. As described below.

The following will loop forever:

• Motor "A" (speed 255) and "Motor "B" (speed -255) are set to spin in opposite directions. This causes the Buggy Base to spin clockwise.
• 3 second pause.
• Motor "A" (speed -255) and "Motor "B" (255) are set to spin in opposite directions. This causes the Buggy Base to spin counter-clockwise.
• 3 second pause.

Block: Stop

The motors can be stopped with the Motor - Stop block.

Function: This block stops the selected motor. Motor - select motor to stop (either A, B, or AB (both)).

Example 1: Repeatedly turn on and off Motor "A"

Note: this example can be performed in online or offline mode. If you plan to use online mode and previously used offline mode, please follow the instructions to reset back to "online mode".

Blocks Used Block Category Blocks Events Control Buggy

Example

Description: When activated, Motor "A" will repeatedly turn on and off with a 1 second delay in between.